B-2 Bombers Over Korea

Obama sends the right message of resolve to Kim Jong Eun.

March 29, 2013 6:48 p.m. ET

It's hard to believe, but the world can be forgiven for having some nostalgia for Kim Jong Il. The late and unlamented North Korean dictator starved his people and tested nuclear weapons, among other crimes, but at least he never tried to start a major war.

No one can be as sure about Kim's son and successor, Kim Jong Eun, who has been raising the volume on North Korean military threats like a child whose parents won't respond to his crying. This week the neophyte ruler put his country's rocket force on standby and...